Auburn Football Has Entered the "Fine-Tuning" Stage Under Alex Golesh

Alex Golesh's biggest concern about the Auburn Tigers has started to change.

And that might be a pretty good sign.

Earlier in fall camp, Golesh was talking about some of the most basic things a football team has to do correctly.

Things like tackling, being physical, and executing plays were initially what he was focused on. 

Of course, those are all legitimate concerns for Auburn during the first few weeks of practice, and especially after the Tigers' first scrimmage, where Golesh called it "sloppy." 

Now the conversation is starting to change.

Following Auburn's second scrimmage, Golesh was much more positive about the physicality and effort he saw from his football team.

"I do believe the intent is getting close to right," Golesh said. "I do believe the physicality is getting close to right."

That's progress.

But Golesh has already found something else he wants Auburn to improve.

Situational football.

"We're not very good right now, really on both sides, at truly recognizing situational football and the guys taking control of it," Golesh said.

And while that certainly isn't something Golesh wants to say two weeks before Auburn takes the field against the Baylor Bears, the fact that Auburn's problems are becoming more advanced seems important.

Golesh isn't spending as much time worrying about whether Auburn will tackle.

He's starting to worry about whether his players understand exactly what they need to accomplish in certain situations.

Golesh doesn't just want Auburn's players to know their individual assignment. He wants them understanding why that assignment matters within that specific moment of the football game.

Eventually, he wants his players taking control of those situations themselves.

The new Tigers head coach has been more than clear this offseason that he wants this roster to be a locker room-led team. 

That's the next step.

Auburn spent the beginning of fall camp trying to establish how Golesh wants this team to practice and play.

Now some of those things are starting to show up.

The tackling improved during the second scrimmage.

The physicality improved.

Golesh saw Auburn playing with what he described as "violent intent."

And with Auburn getting closer to transitioning away from fall camp and toward preparation for Baylor, that's probably what Golesh wants to see.

Auburn needed to become a more physical and fundamentally sound football team first.

Now Golesh wants it to become a smarter one.

And the fact that he's able to focus more on that might be one of Auburn's biggest signs of progress so far.

It truly seems that this team has entered its "fine-tuning" phase of the offseason, and it couldn't come at a better time, as they are very close to kicking off their season.